PED Athletes Return, Attempted Murder at a CrossFit Gym, Jonas Brothers, and More

A man in Maryville, Illinois attempted to drive his truck through Maryville CrossFit 557. According to multiple local news programs, the man entered the parking lot shortly after the end of a class. A woman ran from his truck to escape physical abuse.

When the gym owner, Shane McBride took a picture of the driver’s license plate, the driver became more erratic, hitting McBride’s truck and attempting to push it into the highway. As McBride attempted to get five members, including a pregnant member, into the safety of the gym, the driver turned the vehicle and smashed into the entrance of the gym.

The owner attempted to throw a dumbbell at the driver before he reversed out of the gym, taking a wall of tumbling bricks with him, and driving off. Police were able to capture him in a nearby cornfield after a short pursuit.

The man, 43-year-old Jason Zajac, is currently in custody on four counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated battery, two counts of criminal damage to property, and one count of aggravated assault of a police office.

CrossFit 557 hasn’t made any mention of the situation of their social media pages.

Talking Elite Fitness host and Morning Chalk Up contributor Tommy Marquez posted on Instagram that he proposed to his long-time girlfriend Tiffany Meeks over the weekend in Garrapata State Park. She said yes.

Penn State’s CrossFit Club, in partnership with their THON parent organization, bought the Jonas Brothers to see a teen seeking a chemotherapy treatment when she was unable to attend their concert in-person.

The Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Championship has released the dates of their upcoming online qualifier. Individuals will qualify from January 1st to January 13th, and teams will qualify January 29th through February 10th. MACC is one of only a few remaining CrossFit Sanctional events using their own online qualifier.

Two athletes previously sanctioned for performance enhancing drugs, Ryan Elrod and Nick Thomas, have registered for the 2020 CrossFit Open.

Ryan Elrod was given a two-year suspension for Clomiphene in 2017. He’s now 36, but had two 34th-place finishes in the 2016 and 2017 CrossFit Opens, eventually placing fifth at the 2017 Atlantic Regional, where he tested positive. Clomiphene has shown up in numerous athlete tests and is present in hundreds of prescription drugs. It is used to treat infertility.

Nick Thomas tested positive for Ostarine in 2017. Also known as Enobosarm, it is a black market drug that didn’t pass drug trials when it was being tested for treatment of muscle wasting and osteoporosis. Nick is 28 and competed in the 2016 CrossFit Games as a member of CrossFit Marysville, placing 13th in the world.

From what my research has been able to confirm, Elrod and Thomas are the first two athletes in CrossFit Open history to return to competition after receiving sanctions for performance enhancing drugs.

And that’s it for news about CrossFit on Monday, September 1st.

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I’m Ben Garves, congratulations on another week. Unless something breaks, I’ll talk to you on Monday.